Adding a sound suppressor to an AR15 type 5.56. rifle or carbine will give the shooter a feeling of increased control of the rifle, as the suppressor has very good muzzle brake and compensator effect.

A standard 5.56mm / .223 Rem bullet is characterised with having a relative low flight noise level. This - and the fact that standard powder levels in the bullet are somewhat moderate - makes the 5.56 assault rifles relative easy to suppress to safe levels. When an AR15 rifle is suppressed, more dirt will however find its way back into the rifle. Thus the receiver, magazines etc. will get more dirty when shooting suppressed. The increased back gas pressure will also cause the sound levels from the ejection port to increase slightly. The SAI 5.56 mm rifle suppressors are designed to minimise the negative effects of an increased back gas pressure.

AR15 Rifle Sound Suppressor Efficiency

A sound suppressor for AR15 rifles is not able to eliminate the report from the shoot completely. Noise from the ejection port and from the bullet is the main source of noise on a suppressed AR15 5.56 mm rifle. Optimising for the lowest possible report thus includes not only a soft brass catcher but also special loaded 5.56 x 45 mm subsonic rounds with velocity around 300m/s (1000 fps).

Using standard ammunition is however completely safe and also has some great advantages, as the bullet flight noise will make it more difficult to locate the shooter because the origin of this sound is difficult to pin point and due to the fact that the bullet flight noise is louder than noises originating from the suppressed rifle.

A characteristic of the SAI M80 suppressors is its ability to decrease the natural bullet-spread of the 5.56mm rifles. The SAI M80 5.56mm sound suppressors are designed with symmetrical baffles and symmetrical mounting to ensure optimal precision of the AR15 rifles. There is a slight compromise of sound attenuation effect by doing so (1-2 db), but close cooperation with army and navy end users ... and rigorous testing... has proven that precision - and other characteristics - is much preferred above actual sound levels. The increased precision is even more evident when using the very short M80 CQS (close quarter suppressor) on short barrel carbine riffles - like the Colt Canada C8 or the Colt M4.

Suppressor Maintenance and Cleaning

SAI 5.56mm suppressors for M16A2 compensator mounting are virtually maintenance free. Normal fouling of the suppressors from powder and primers has very little or no effect on the function and precision of the suppressors. Using compressed air for standard cleaning is advised. Lifetime warranty with service agreement is an optional buy-in when ordering.

More information on the AR15 type 5.56 suppressors, including product specifications, can be found on the SAI website.